Black ECE Policy Council
23-24
The problem
61% of Black/African American children in San Francisco do not start kindergarten at the readiness level. * More than 33% of ECE programs do not have enough teachers and staff to enroll as many children as desired. San Francisco faces a severe shortage of Black/African American Early Educators. Only 7-9% of ECE professionals or post-secondary ECE students are Black. “Black children who’d had just one black teacher by third grade were 13 percent more likely to enroll in college—and those who’d had two were 32 percent more likely.”
Our solutions
Children’s Council of San Francisco is committed to improving access to high quality, culturally competent child care for our Black/African American communities. We have invested in solutions that target child care workforce and career programming, child care business development, policy leadership and family support.
The Black Early Educator Policy Council (BEEPC) has developed into a strong body of individuals with a clear vision for how to recruit and retain Black early educators in San Francisco. This group is setting the stage for the next chapter by supporting the Black early educator community by collaborating and sharing their expertise to increase the number of and retention of Black early educators in the city while providing a space for a racial wellness affinity group.
More about the BEEPC:
- Composition: 20+ Black early educators who analyze policies, practices and programs serving Black children, families and early educators in San Francisco.
- Goals: make recommendations that will increase the number of and retention of Black/African American early educators and improve educational outcomes for Black/African American children, with a particular focus on disassembling institutional racism.